14 December 1981

Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

The General Assembly,

Having considered the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on the activities of his Office, as well as the report of the Executive Committee of the Programme of the High Commissioner on its thirty-second session, and having heard the High Commissioner's statement,

Recalling its resolutions 35/41 A and B and 35/42 of 25 November 1980, Expressing deep concern at the persistence and gravity of the problems of refugees and displaced persons in the world, particularly in different parts of Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe,

Noting with great appreciation the positive responses of Governments to the problems of refugees and displaced persons of concern to the Office of the High Commissioner through offers of asylum, voluntary repatriation, resettlement, rehabilitation and financial contributions, as well as the generous support given to the Office of the High Commissioner in its humanitarian task,

Reaffirming the eminently humanitarian and non-political character of the activity of the Office of the High Commissioner,

Extending its congratulations to the Office of the High Commissioner for the award of the 1981 Nobel Peace Prize, in recognition of its work for refugees,

Considering the continuing and urgent need for a substantial international effort to promote durable solutions to the problems of refugees and displaced persons of concern to the Office of the High Commissioner through voluntary repatriation or return and resettlement, drawing particular attention to women and children refugees, and disabled and elderly refugees,

Noting with satisfaction that a growing number of States have acceded to the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees,

Noting with great concern that, despite an increasingly broad understanding of the principles of international protection, refugees still encounter serious difficulties in many parts of the world in obtaining asylum and that they are exposed to the threat of refoulement, arbitrary detention and physical violence,

Deploring, in particular, the instances of military attacks on refugee camps in southern Africa and elsewhere and physical attacks on asylum-seekers at sea,

Drawing attention to the problem of refugees rescued at sea and the difficulties encountered for their disembarkation, involving threats of refoulement,

Welcoming the success achieved by the International Conference on Assistance to Refugees in Africa, held at Geneva on 9 and 10 April 1981, as a first step in arousing world-wide interest and support for refugees in Africa,

1. Commends the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and his staff for the manner in which they have continued to discharge their responsibilities for protecting and assisting refugees and displaced persons of concern to the Office;

2. Takes due note of the proposals made by the High Commissioner and generally endorsed by the Executive Committee of the Programme of the High Commissioner to strengthen the management of his Office on the basis of the principles and guidelines of the General Assembly - and welcomes his intention to seek the assistance of the Administrative Management Service in undertaking expeditiously a review of the managerial methods and organizational structure of his Office, as recommended by the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions;

3. Calls upon the international community to share the burden of assisting refugees and displaced persons the world over, taking into account the economic and demographic absorptive capacity of the countries concerned;

4. Reaffirms the fundamental nature of the High Commissioner's function to provide international protection and the importance of promoting durable and speedy solutions in consultation and agreement with the countries concerned, through voluntary repatriation or return and subsequent assistance in rehabilitation and, whenever appropriate, integration in countries of asylum or resettlement in other countries of refugees and displaced persons of concern to the Office of the High Commissioner;

5. Urges Governments to intensify their support for activities which the High Commissioner is carrying out in accordance with his mandate and relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council, especially by:

(a) Facilitating the High Commissioner's efforts in the field of international protection, in particular by scrupulously observing the principle of asylum and non-refoulement and by protecting asylum-seekers in situations of large-scale influx, as endorsed by the Executive Committee of the Programme of the High Commissioner at its thirty-second session;

(b) Supporting his efforts to promote, in co-operation with Governments, United Nations bodies and non-governmental organizations, durable and speedy solutions to the problems of refugees and displaced persons of concern to the Office;

6. Urges Governments to join in greater international efforts in the suppression of piracy on the high seas, in accordance with their international obligations, and to take appropriate action to protect asylum-seekers from acts of violence at sea;

7. Notes with great concern the serious humanitarian problems resulting from armed attacks on refugee camps and settlements which are the concern of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the need for special measures to protect and ensure the safety of such refugees;

8. Welcomes the measures taken to implement the recommendations on the subject of assistance to women refugees and displaced women of concern to the High Commissioner in the Programme of Action for the Second Half of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace adopted at the World Conference of the United Nations Decade for Women and endorsed in General Assembly resolution 35/136 of 11 December 1980;

9. Commends the High Commissioner for his special efforts on behalf of disabled refugees on the occasion of the International Year of Disabled Persons;

10. Requests the High Commissioner to continue participating in the follow-up of the International Conference on Assistance to Refugees in Africa and urges the international community to maintain the momentum gained by the Conference in providing assistance to refugees in Africa commensurate with the growing number of African refugees;

11. Urges the High Commissioner to provide humanitarian assistance to meet the needs of the vastly increased numbers of refugees in various regions of Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe;

12. Stresses the importance of maintaining the relief efforts and the resettlement momentum for boat and land cases in South-East Asia, including the Programme of Orderly Departure, and urges all Governments to provide opportunities for durable solutions to these refugees;

13. Urges the High Commissioner further to explore elaboration of arrangements in order to facilitate the disembarkation and resettlement of asylum-seekers rescued at sea;

14. Reaffirms the High Commissioner's leading responsibility in emergency situations regarding refugees and displaced persons of concern to his Office as well as his responsibility in the co-ordination of assistance in those situations and commends him for the considerable progress made in the elaboration of adequate procedures to meet emergency situations, in co-ordination with the relevant bodies of the United Nations system;

15. Requests the High Commissioner, while carrying out his responsibilities, to co-ordinate and co-operate closely with other organizations within and outside the United Nations system for greatest efficiency of relief in the case of major emergencies;

16. Urges all Governments in a position to do so to contribute generously in order to provide the High Commissioner with the necessary means to attain the objectives of his humanitarian programme.